Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Van Meter, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Van Meter and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Van Meter
- Astronomy & Satellites ...
- Whether using binoculars, a small telescope or the naked-eye, the Heavens-Above website can help you to find your way around the night-time sky. In addition to detailed sky charts, their website will help you find planets, asteriods, comets, satellites and their tracks across the sky.
- To give accurate results, Heavens-Above requires the latitude and longitude of your location. As a starting point, when we link to Heavens-Above, we pass this GPS location for Van Meter:
- 41.532138, -93.95464
- Once you're on the Heavens-Above website, you can improve its accuracy by giving a more precise longitude and latitude as your actual position.
- The Heavens-Above Website, centered on Van Meter
- Bird Watching ...
- We enjoy finding new spots for bird watching and we use the eBird website for local sighting reports and to help identify hotspots.
- The eBird website is organized on a county-by-county basis. We have selected Dallas County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Dallas County
- Since Van Meter is near Madison County and also Polk County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Madison County
- eBird sighting report for Polk County
- Waymarking ...
- Looking for somewhere out of the ordinary? Find a unique place and want to share it with others? Then it's time to visit Waymarking.com:
- Waymark.com
Communities Also Named Van Meter ...
We found three communities that share the name Van Meter.
Within Iowa, the name Van Meter is unique.
Beyond Iowa, we know of another three communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Kentucky
- Ohio
- Pennsylvania
Curious and Interesting Names Near Van Meter ...
As we travel, we always see a community with a name that gives pause. While there are names which are interesting or familiar, some catch our attention or strike our fancy. We always wonder about such a name. If time permits and the community is not too far, we'll usually try to make a side-trip.
- Churchville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Churchville
- Churchville is located in Warren County
- Commerce
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east) - DeSoto
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for DeSoto
- DeSoto is located in Dallas County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,061 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for DeSoto <3>
- Kennedy
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest) - Panther
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest) - Quarry
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west) - Redfield
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redfield
- Redfield is located in Dallas County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 832 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Redfield <3>
- Rider
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast) - Tileville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south) - Valley Junction
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Valley Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley Junction
- Valley Junction is located in Polk County
How Far From Van Meter to ...
We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers, Almanacs & Directories that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a city such as Van Meter to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Van Meter and extending to:
- Adel, which is the Seat of Dallas County, lies just to the North Northwest.
- Des Moines, which is the State Capital of Iowa, lies 17 miles [27.4 km]<1> to the east northeast (ENE). If you could walk a straight line from Van Meter to Des Moines, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of a day to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take five to six hours.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 908 miles [1,461.3 km] to the east (E). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take most of two days, a buggy would take 36 days and walking would take 52 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,424 miles [10,338.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,173 miles [11,543.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,069 miles [8,157.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Van Meter. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Dallas County: www.co.dallas.ia.us/
The official website for State of Iowa: https://www.iowa.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Van Meter) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Van Meter. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.5321, Longitude: -93.9546 |
| <2> | The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required. |
| <3> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <4> | While we have tried to pick reasonable speeds, the rate of travel is very theoretical - obstacles like fences, hills, lakes, river crossings and rest stops have been ignored. When we say 'Days' of travel, we're assuming 8 hours of travel per day. |
| <5> | The shortest line can be visualized by stretching a string on a Globe from Point A to Point B - this is known as a Great Circle Route. Where you might expect the shortest route from Van Meter to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 318.716 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 316.184 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 311.844 degrees. |